Team Suzuki Press Office – September 21.
Christian Iddon and the Bennetts Suzuki team began to show its true potential this weekend at Assen for round 10 of the MCE British Superbike championship, with strong performances that saw Iddon fighting for two podium finishes.
After posting the second-and-third fastest times in practice on Friday, a crash in qualifying saw Iddon start race one from 10th on the grid. However, after a good start, he had soon made up a number of places and was on the back of the battle for third place. Unfortunately, issues with rear grip meant he eventually dropped back to seventh place at the chequered flag, but his best lap-time gave him a second row start for race two.
A rain shower meant the race eventually began in damp, tricky conditions, but the team still shod the Bennetts Suzuki GSX-R1000 with Pirelli slick tyres. It proved to be the right decision and after another good start Iddon was soon fighting for the race lead.
Despite losing touch with the race leaders as the race wore on, Iddon remained in the battle for third place, but lost out to Shane Byrne in the closing laps and crossed the line in sixth place. Despite missing-out on the podium, Iddon and the team are taking the positives away from the weekend's performances and will be looking to build on the potential shown next time out at Silverstone.
Christian Iddon:
“In the first race we really struggled with tyre degradation, as did a lot of other guys. Sadly for us though I didn't quite have a good feeling from the rear from the off so I was in a worse situation than most. Mid-race I thought we could have had a podium though but sadly our performance dropped-off in the latter stages. Race two was really enjoyable. Two corners were still really wet early on, but I was feeling really good and again thought we were in with a shout of a podium, but as the track dried we suffered from some chatter quite badly. It's a shame because the results don't really look that spectacular or reflect the potential. I felt really strong in both races and really thought we could have had two podiums. But we've made some big steps and there's no reason why what we've worked on here can't work at Silverstone. We also have some more bits to try too so hopefully we can improve the bike further and still have a good end to the season.”
Josh Waters started the opening race from 12th on the grid and was tagged onto the battle for the top 10. With an improved feeling with his GSX-R1000 and strong pace, the potential was there for a strong result, but unfortunately he got caught-up in the on-track battle and crossed the line in 15th.
The tricky conditions saw the field bunched-up in the opening laps of race two, with positions exchanged at nearly every corner. Waters was again amongst the battle for the top 10, and finished inside the points in 14th place, but feels there was the chance of stronger results this weekend, and is looking for more at Silverstone.
Josh Waters:
“Our pace was a lot better this weekend and better than the results showed. We just got caught-up at the wrong times in the wrong places, but that's the nature of BSB and why it's such a good championship. The lap-times we could run were a lot better and the feeling from my GSX-R1000 was improved this weekend. Everyone in the team has worked hard so hopefully we can take the things we've tried here at Assen and build on them further at Silverstone.”
Martin Halsall - Team Owner:
“That's a bit more like it. We've known the potential has been there all season and while we missed out on the podium in both races in the end, we're buoyed by the promise that we've shown this weekend. Christian's done an excellent job of putting the crash in qualifying behind him to come through and get himself and the Bennetts Suzuki GSX-R1000 up the sharp-end and has had two good races. Sadly a couple of little things ended the podium challenge early, so as a team we'll go away from here and look through all the data and information to try and find some solutions, and hopefully we can go a few better at Silverstone.
“Josh has been a bit unlucky this weekend with his results. He had a good Friday and his grid spot for the second race showed the pace that was there this weekend. He's had two dogfights typical of BSB this season, but unfortunately has been at the back of those at the wrong point in each race, so I don't think the results reflect the potential that was there for him this weekend. But we'll again take the positives, and look to improve the GSX-R1000 for him again at Silverstone.”
Race One Result: 1. Josh Brookes, 2. James Ellison, 3. Michael Laverty, 4. Shane Byrne, 5. John Hopkins. 7. Christian Iddon (Bennetts Suzuki GSX-R1000). 15. Josh Waters (Bennetts Suzuki GSX-R1000).
Race Two Result: 1. Josh Brookes. 2. James Ellison. 3. Luke Mossey. 4. Richard Cooper. 5. Shane Byrne. 6. Christian Iddon (Bennetts Suzuki GSX-R1000). 14. Josh Waters (Bennetts Suzuki GSX-R1000).
